WATERLOO – John Milloy, MPP Kitchener centre, on behalf of Chris Bentley, minister of training, colleges and universities, was joined by Robert Rosehart, president of Wilfrid Laurier University, to announce the ministry’s approval for Wilfrid Laurier to apply to operate a faculty of education.

Wilfrid Laurier University, in partnership with St. Jerome’s University of the University of Waterloo, plans to start a one year consecutive bachelor of education program in the fall of 2007, subject to accreditation by the Ontario College of Teachers.

Milloy said, “This is truly a historic day for our region. For too long, a community of our size, which is also home to some 50,000 undergraduate students, has gone without direct access to a faculty of education. This important step towards a new teachers’ college recognizes the quality of Waterloo Region’s postsecondary institutions and the strength of our community.”

The proposed program is innovative in curriculum design and will place additional focus on classroom teaching. Starting in September 2007, the new program will provide more spaces for students to pursue post-professional opportunities. This is also good news for the double cohort of students who will begin to graduate in 2007.

“This will be Laurier’s first new professional program in over 30 years,” Rosehart said. “Through WLU and UW’s collaborative efforts, and thanks to John Milloy and Minister Bentley, we have been able to achieve this important milestone as we progress on Laurier’s Century Plan initiative to become a more comprehensive university.”